Have you been told your depression is random? That it just came out of nowhere?

Maybe your doctor prescribed synthetic hormones to manage your heavy periods or irregular cycles, and now… things just feel off. You're questioning, “What’s wrong with me?” even though your life looks great on paper.

This week on the Hormone Prosperity Podcast, Dr. Kyrin dives into why depression, anxiety, weight gain, and other midlife struggles often aren’t the isolated issues they seem to be—and why a simplistic approach to “hormone problems” might be actually making things worse.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

It’s Not Just About Sex Hormones

While estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are critical to your physical and emotional wellbeing, they’re just one piece of a much bigger hormonal puzzle. Insulin, thyroid, cortisol, DHEA, and even oxytocin all play a role in your mood, energy, and vitality.

Why Synthetic Hormones Fall Short

Mainstream solutions like progestin IUDs and birth control pills don’t address the root causes of hormonal poverty—in fact, they can suppress your body’s natural systems and create more problems like depression, low libido, or fatigue.

Symptoms Are Signposts, Not Problems

Just like water on your bathroom floor isn’t the problem—it’s a sign of a leak—heavy periods or mood swings are symptoms, not root issues. Treating symptoms alone won’t bring you the health and joy you deserve.

The Path to Hormonal Prosperity

With proper testing, a holistic approach, and the right guidance, you can uncover the deeper issues behind hormonal imbalances and take action to reclaim the vibrant, joy-filled life you’re meant to have.

Your Call to Action

Take the Free Hormonal Poverty Quiz

Could you be in hormonal poverty? Find out in just 90 seconds!

👉 CLICK HERE to take the quiz and assess where you stand.

Join the Hormone Bliss Challenge

Want step-by-step guidance from Dr. Kyrin? The Hormone Bliss Challenge will walk you through actionable steps to rebalance your body, reclaim your sleep, and say hello to vitality.

👉 CLICK HERE to join today.

Help Other Women Get Their Bliss Back

Enjoyed this episode? Please share it with a friend who’s also struggling with hormonal imbalance or midlife metabolic mayhem. Together, we can help more women reclaim their vitality and health. Don’t forget to leave us a review or rating—your support helps build this empowering community!

Podcast Episode Transcript:

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (00:00):

It's a sex hormone problem, but it is not just a sex hormone problem. And that's what I wanna educate you about so that you're not looking in the wrong place for the answers that you're never gonna find. Greetings friend. Welcome to the Hormone Prosperity Podcast with me, the hormone prosperity coach, Dr. Kyrin. Here's where intelligent women over 40 go to get credible guidance and inspiration on getting out of hormonal poverty and into hormonal prosperity and the joy and vitality that brings. Go from asking disempowering questions like, what's wrong with me? To asking empowering questions like, what would hormonal prosperity do? Hashtag wwp d, join me as we dive into today's episode and get started on your journey off the couch, into your genes and back into life because bliss is your birthright and a healthy body filled with hormonal prosperity is the vehicle that gets you there. Welcome. Let's get started.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (01:07):

Great question from Christine about use of the progestin IUD to control menstrual symptoms and it causing depression. Maybe you've had that problem. Maybe you can relate. When I practiced mainstream gynecology, progestin containing IUDs like the marina, were standard of care to use to help control women's abnormal bleeding with their menses, particularly in the perimenopausal period. So right before you go through menopause, one of the main symptoms of midlife metabolic mayhem caused by hormonal poverty is irregular, prolonged pain, painful bleeding. And standard of care for that in mainstream medicine is some type of hormonal suppression using synthetic artificial hormones like the birth control pill or the maneuvering or implants or progestin containing IUD. So I used to use those as part of my mainstream practice routinely, but depression was often the side effect. And maybe you are on some type of hormonal suppression in the perimenopausal period, not realizing you are in hormonal poverty and you are experiencing depression too.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (02:26):

So I wanna talk to you about what exactly is happening that's causing the depression. No, you didn't all of a sudden get a mood disorder out of nowhere. Most of these women will tell me, I don't have any reason to be depressed. My life is actually pretty good. I have everything that I want and need. I have great relationships, I love my job, but I just feel depressed for no reason. I can't tell you how many times I have heard that complaint when I practice mainstream medicine. And so what is happening here is that these artificial synthetic hormones, whatever form they come in, are used to shut down the brain's signaling to the ovaries to make their naturally occurring hormones, right? Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone that keep you healthy, your neurotransmitters balanced, keep you happy, no anxiety, no depression, and feeling good and joyful in your life.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (03:27):

So if this is shut down, sure it stops your uterus, ovaries from functioning and your uterus. So the outward sign of that function, the bleeding goes away. And most women will become what we call amenorrheic, meaning no periods when they are suppressed with these medications that are given in a certain way, like continuous birth control pills or the implants or the ring or the progestin containing IUD. So your doctor suppresses your uterus from bleeding and then claims victory. Oh, you're not bleeding, symptom is gone and you actually claim victory too. You think it's great, but then, oh, what's wrong with me? I'm depressed. Well, I actually, when I practice, mainstream medicine would draw women's hormone levels just to see where they were. And a lot of these ...

Dr. Kyrin Dunston | It’s Not “Just” a Hormone Problem—Here’s What You’re Missing